Exodus 8:22
in Exodus 8But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth.
KJV
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
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This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI will sever in that day - הפליתי hiphleythi, has been translated by some good critics, I will miraculously separate; so the Vulgate: Faciam mirabilem, “I will do a marvellous thing.” And the Septuagint, παραδοξασω, I will render illustrious the land of Goshen in that day; and this he did, by exempting that land, and its inhabitants the Israelites, from the plagues by which he afflicted the land of Egypt.
This site's exposition
I will sever in that day the land of Goshen
on Exodus 8:22-23
For the first time the text says outright that a plague will stop at a border, and the border is Goshen, where Genesis 47:6 settled Jacob's family. The stated reason is knowledge again, to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. Clarke observes that the word rendered division at verse 23 is peduth, which elsewhere carries the sense of a redemption, so the line drawn between the two peoples is described with a word for ransom.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell,.... Distinguish it from other parts of the land of Egypt: that no swarms of flies shall be there; which was a very wonderful thing, and so the word may be rendered.
It is probable that this distinction had not been so manifest and observable in any of the foregoing plagues as it was to be in this. Thus, as the plague of lice was made more convincing than any before it, by its running the magicians aground, so was this, by the distinction made between the Egyptians and the Hebrews.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The worship of flies, particularly of the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities to chastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptians while it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of the Israelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will sever ... - This severance constituted a specific difference between this and the preceding plagues. Pharaoh could not of course attribute the exemption of Goshen from a scourge, which fell on the valley of the Nile, to an Egyptian deity, certainly not to Chepera (see the last note), a special object of worship in Lower Egypt.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִפְלֵיתִי֩ | vehifleiti | and I will separate | H6395 → | 7 times |
| בַיּ֨וֹם | vaiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֜וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| גֹּ֗שֶׁן | goshen | Goshen | H1657 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַמִּי֙ | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| עֹמֵ֣ד | ʾomed | [is] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עָלֶ֔יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֥י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| הֱיֽוֹת־ | heyot- | to be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עָרֹ֑ב | aro | a swarm | H6157 → | 9 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| תֵּדַ֔ע | teda' | you may know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּקֶ֥רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְהִפְלֵיתִי֩and I will separate
vehifleitiH6395 →7 times
בַיּ֨וֹםon the day
vaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֜וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
גֹּ֗שֶׁןGoshen
goshenH1657 →
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַמִּי֙people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
עֹמֵ֣ד[is] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
עָלֶ֔יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
לְבִלְתִּ֥יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
הֱיֽוֹת־to be
heyot-H1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
עָרֹ֑בa swarm
aroH6157 →9 times
לְמַ֣עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
תֵּדַ֔עyou may know
teda'H3045 →945 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּקֶ֥רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Malachi 3:18So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
it leads to
- Matthew 25:46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Psalms 58:10–11
The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Genesis 18:25
Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the…
- Joshua 24:15
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods…
- Malachi 3:14–15
You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
- Matthew 25:46
Through
Exodus 10:23No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:13–14
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 65:13–14
Through
Ezekiel 30:19So I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:14
I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
- Revelation 17:1
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Ezekiel 30:14
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.